Doda encounter: Former Foreign Secretary Shringla, BJP MP Bista pay tribute to Captain Thapa

Darjeeling (West Bengal) [India], July 17 (ANI): BJP MP Raju Bista and former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Wednesday paid tribute to Captain Brijesh Thapa who lost his life in the Doda encounter.

Bista and Shringla paid tribute to Captain Brijesh Thapa at Bengdubi Military Station in Siliguri, Darjeeling.
Four Indian Army soldiers, including an officer, were killed in action during an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on Tuesday.
The encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in the Desa Forest area in Doda on Monday evening. The soldiers killed in action have been identified as Captain Brijesh Thapa, Naik D Rajesh, Sepoy Bijendra, and Sepoy Ajay.
While speaking with ANI, Bista said, "On behalf of the countrymen, I pay tribute to the brave martyr Brijesh Thapa. This is a very sad incident. At the age of just 27, he has made the supreme sacrifice. I want to tell his parents that 140 crore countrymen are their family."

The BJP MP further said that the people of Darjeeling have always been ahead when it comes to protecting the country. "Be it during the independence or after the independence, the youth of Darjeeling have always sacrificed their life for the nation. Such incidents make you disturbed and sad. I also want to say to Pakistan, 'baap baap hota hai aur beta beta hota hai, aur Hindustan baap hai.'"
Meanwhile, Shringla said, "It is a very sad incident that our youth from Darjeeling, who belongs to the Gorkha community, has lost his life in the service of the country."

He added, "Whatever I can do on behalf of the Darjeeling Welfare Society of which I am the president, for the family, for our community, if any scholarship is to be done in the society in his name, I talked about it."
Talking about the Gorkha community, he said, "The contribution of Gorkha community has been very significant for our country, for the service of our country, and especially in the military."
He added, "There is a lot of anger in our country that such incidents are taking place and I think we must give a befitting reply to this. We cannot tolerate this." (ANI)